Wide Awake: Part 1
''Wide Awake: Part 1 ''is the first of the two part premiere chapter of Book 1 of Lavender and first overall in the series. It was released on February 21, 2014 alongside the second half Wide Awake: Part 2. http://readlavender.tumblr.com/post/41950807528/chapter-1-3-release-date-announced The decision to split the 8,500 word long chapter into two parts was proposed in early 2012. http://readlavender.tumblr.com/post/43304298108/lavender-chapter-1-wide-awake-broken-in-to-two-parts The seemingly perfect little town island of Ravenled holds more than its fair share of people. However, with the murder of George Frost, the previous mayor of the town and the disappearance of 16 year old adopted daughter Sydney Lavender, everyone’s darkest hours begin to unravel. The chapter debut exclusively first on Pressbooks Synopsis SPOILER WARNING - Read the FULL CHAPTER on Pressbooks The chapter begins with Sydney Lavender waking up in a green meadow hearing a voice call out to her, but she is unable to see on who it is. She wakes up back at home in her bedroom, with Victoria Frost beside her wondering if she was okay. She had no memories of her past or identity. Tony Blackthorne and Alex Blackthorne enter the room, though she doesn't recognize them either. Alex seems cheerful at seeing her return while Tony, the older brother, is the opposite. Victoria talks with Tony and Alex outside the room, warning them to allow her to rest. They try to explain Sydney's history. That night, Sydney awakens and finds a newspaper article on her adopted father, also Ravenled's previous mayor's murder - George Frost's murder on the same night she disappeared for an entire month. That night, she dreams of George being stabbed and killed. The next morning, Alex takes Sydney too Christine Chamberlin's mansion, her best friend and bump into one of Christine's new maids, Michelle Lesley who was hired by Christine' father, Miggy Chamberlin. Christine reveals to Sydney the party the new mayor, Chanh Henderson had planned for Sydney's return. Rose Lake is an old lady living with 26 year old plumber Jeremy Sovereign who lives with her under the condition he does all the house work. She asks him if he found anything strange while cleaning, to which he says no. He later takes out a pendant that he found earlier and tries to dissect it, but throws it away when it seems like it's nothing of worth. A mailman arrives to deliver an invitation to the party to celebrate Sydney's return, to which Rose says she doesn't want to go. Mayor Chanh Henderson visits Sydney personally at her house in the Ravenled Forest with a gift and has a meeting with her privately. He explains that he was elected as mayor as the previous mayor, George, had appointed him as the next candidate previously. He tells her the schedule for the party, much to her dismay. He very vaguely threatens Sydney and hints that there is more to him then what meets the eye. Cast Members *Britt Robertson as Sydney Lavender *Tony Nguyen as Tony Blackthorne *Alex Ham as Alex Blackthorne *Rose Harnwell as Rose Lake http://readlavender.tumblr.com/post/41950543260/character-changes *Jeremy Chai as Jeremy Sovereign *Christine Sanico as Christine Chamberlin *Victoria James as Victoria Frost *George Hosking as George Frost *Michelle Kittikhoun as Michelle Lesley http://readlavender.tumblr.com/post/41950543260/character-changes Cameos Development Writing for the chapter began June 23, 2012 and ended on June 27, 2012. As this is the first chapter of the book, preparation and planning of the story began weeks before writing had commenced. Title of actual story was previously Corruption, before changing into Sydney, then eventually Lavender. Release date and beginning of series was set to be July 1, 2012, however, was eventually changed to August 6, 2012 (before changing into the release date of August 12, 2012 and have the second chapter release a day after). ' Several name changes occured such as Jeremy Leakes was renamed to Jeremy Sovereign, Vivian Gold to Vivian Lake and the demotion of Miggy to recurring. However, the chapter was delayed once again and as of November 2012, the chapter has gone back into pre-writing and will be edited and extended. The chapter was then rewritten and worked in January, 2013 and is currently slated for a release in February, 2013. On February 1, 2013, the official release date for the chapter was announced, and the chapter will be released February 17, with the follow up chapter released a day later. http://readlavender.tumblr.com/post/41950807528/chapter-1-3-release-date-announced As of February 1, writing for the chapter is still incomplete and the writer hopes to be complete by release date. http://readlavender.tumblr.com/post/41950950826/lavender-writing-progress Three major cast changes were made, with new characters being added or changed - Rose Lake, Michelle Lesley and Vivian Rosenthal played by Rose Harenwell, Michelle Kittikhoun and Vivian Tran respectively. The writer confimed that the chapter will contain more than 4,500 words and that it'll be one of the series' longest. That is also 2,000 more words than the previously reported 2,500 words.. On February 10, the final draft for the chapter was officially complete and was ready for a prerelease, a whole week before the official release date. The final draft is approximately 6,500 words long. http://readlavender.tumblr.com/post/42715299096/wide-awake-final-draft-complete On February 17, 2013, the writer announced that once again, the entire series had been delayed and that it will be released on February 24, 2013 to allow the production to be completed before being officially released so the series will have a steady schedule. Twin Connection will still be airing the following day on February 25, 2013. http://readlavender.tumblr.com/post/43302877174/lavender-delayed-again Due to the backlash at the chapter's long length and the size difference in comparison to future chapters, the writer announced on February 18 that Wide Awake will be split in to two parts, with the second half of the chapter to be released on the date that Twin Connection was originally scheduled to be released (the day after Part 1). The split will happen during Sydney's transition from 'an empty, fragile girl' to 'someone who wants justice'. http://readlavender.tumblr.com/post/43304298108/lavender-chapter-1-wide-awake-broken-in-to-two-parts A few new scenes have been confirmed to be added after the split was announced, however they are not any major changes. Majority of the change will be more detailed sentences and paragraphs such as the conversation between Alex and Sydney early on in the chapter. The series went on another hiatus to 'brush up on the story'. http://readlavender.tumblr.com/post/76106882163/2014-first-q-a-with-tony-nguyen The series was picked again in early February and finally officially released on February 21, 2014 alongside the second part on Pressbooks http://lavender.pressbooks.com/ as well as the official cover reveal for the book. https://twitter.com/LavenderNews/status/436757596158955520 Critical Response The chapter received positive to mixed reviews based off early critics. The chapter was released early to critics on February 10, 2013, a week before the release and was currently in the editing progress.http://readlavender.tumblr.com/post/42492166037/chapter-1-pre-release Some people criticized for the chapter's length being 'too long' however was interesting, but wanted to know more about the characters at the party. The story was compared to other novels such as Pretty Little Liars and questioned some of the choice of words in the chapter. Majority of the reaction had been positive for the first chapter of the series. A teaser was released on January 24, 2013 to a selected few which showcased the beginning of the story as well as additional hints. The writer has said the theme of the teaser is "scary", with critics praising the teaser for "being too scary to even be watched" while others called it "too random and jumpy" at times. The voice actress was praised for its clarity and acting. The teaser was intended to be released to the public a week prior to the chapter release, however plans for the teaser were shelved due to mix reviews.http://readlavender.tumblr.com/post/41951497207/teaser-release-cancelled Secrets/Mysteries *'Who killed George Frost?' Frost was the previous mayor of the town. Sydney and Michelle played a game to see who would be the first to kill 'him', which is assumed to be George. Sydney disappeared for a month on the same day he was killed and when she returns, she remembers that she stabbed George twice. *'Why did Sydney disappear and where did she go?' Sydney disappeared a month prior to the chapter and disappeared on the same day as George's death. She was believed by the town to be dead. The night she disappeared, she killed George. Victoria claims that she woke up one morning and found Sydney back in her bed. At this point, it is assumed that Sydney disappeared after killing George. *'Who is 'A'?' 'A' is someone under an anonymous alias. 'A' first texts Sydney when she is shopping with Christine and says someone in this room is capable of murder. This person has managed to be able to break into Sydney's house, as well as steal confidential police files. It is assumed that this person is Michelle and knows who killed George. *'Why is Michelle acting suspicious and what is her connection with Sydney?' Michelle worked as a maid at the Chamberlin Mansion however decided to leave a few days after Sydney returned to Ravenled. She is seen suspicious spying on Sydney at a shopping mall. Sydney remembers a conversation with Michelle where the two played a game to kill someone they refer to as 'him', however she doesn't remember who they were talking about. *'What happened to Christine after Sydney disappeared? ' Christine mentions that both her and Sydney were Ravenled's two most popular girls but after Sydney disappeared, things changed and 'fell through'. To what extent has yet to be revealed. *'Who is Natasha's little sister?' *'What is the pendant that Jeremy Sovereign found?' 'A' Messages Notes/Trivia *The title refers to Sydney awakening at Ravenled and not knowing who or where she is. *This is the very first chapter of Lavender and is the setting stone for the rest of the series. *The 2012 draft of Wide Awake Parts 1 & 2 only contained 2,500 words as opposed to the 6,500 in the 2013 draft, before eventually 8,500 words in the final draft. *Vivian Rosenthal was a character added during the 2013 rewrite, but was subsequently removed during the 2014 rewrite. *The teaser video showcased the first few minutes of the episode, as well as the vision Sydney had. *The release date was originally July 1, then eventually August 6, then August 12 before eventually being taken off a 2012 schedule. The fourth release date was set for February 17, 2013. http://readlavender.tumblr.com/post/41950807528/chapter-1-3-release-date-announced However, on the day that the chapter was intended to be released, it was delayed again until February 24, 2013 http://readlavender.tumblr.com/post/43302877174/lavender-delayed-again and was eventually released on February 21, 2014. https://twitter.com/LavenderNews/status/437162278035542016 *There are several references to Arekless throughout the story. One of them is when Tony Blackthorne says "Alex Is A" which was the second chapter's title name in Arekless. *Due to the length, the chapter was split into two parts - Wide Awake: Part 1 and Wide Awake: Part 2. *The chapter debut exclusively on Pressbooks http://t.co/wTlG5Qor5Z first. Memorable Quotes Unknown Voice Sydney: Sweetie. You're okay now, I promise. Victoria Frost Sydney: '''Who am I? Is this another one of your games? '''Tony Sydney: I'm sure most people just want her dead. Christine at prom photos: We look so cute! Rose Jeremy: You sleep and eat here free of charge, stop acting like a child. Tony: You're just a kid, Sydney. Rose Natasha: I'm not even that old. Chanh Sydney: Let's start over. I'm Chanh, and you? References Category:Season 1 Category:Episodes Category:Specials